Which season of TRUE BLOOD was your favourite?

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TRUE BLOOD, 7.10 – 'Thank You' – father of the vampire bride

JASON: It's been a long fuckin' week, and it's been a weird fuckin' week.

Just go with it. That's a phrase you often have to repeat to yourself when watching TRUE BLOOD, but thankfully only once during its series finale. The idea that Hoyt (Jim Parrack) would agree to marry Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll) after only knowing her a day (as far as he remembers), just to please her terminally ill "father" Bill (Stephen Moyer), wasn't the most plausible of things. But this show has done far sillier things over seven seasons, so I went with it. The wedding itself didn't pull at my heart-strings as was intended, alas; mainly because of that underlying stupidity, but also because Hoyt and Jessica were a couple taken to such a tragic conclusion that this eleventh hour decision to right a wrong has always felt like fan-servicing.

TRUE BLOOD, 7.9 – 'Love is to Die' – relationship counselling

SOOKIE (to Bill): Whatever this is, whatever you're doin', you don't get to hide behind the word "fate".

Oh, TRUE BLOOD. Did you really just spend 40-minutes of your final season's penultimate hour on pairing up Hoyt (Jim Parrack)-Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll), and Jason (Ryan Kwanten)-Bridget (Ashley Hinshaw)? It was obvious from the moment Hoyt returned to Bon Temps with Bridget in tow that a 'partner swap' was on the cards, so it wasn't anything close to a surprise. And while I was once a big fan of Hoyt and Jessica as a loved-up young couple, seeing them back together didn't fill me with the intended warm glow. I think it's because Hoyt was once a naïve and charming hick who managed to land himself a world-class babe, but now he's just gruff and dull.

Digital Spy: 12 Fantasy Television Crossovers

Over at Digital Spy today, it's my latest article. This one fantasises about 12 "crossover" episodes of past and present TV shows, that would be extremely unlikely but incredibly fun to watch. Dexter meets Hannibal? Sherlock travels to Fargo? Justified visits True Blood? Click through to read more, and remember to share if you enjoy it!

TRUE BLOOD, 7.8 – 'Almost Home' - the price of salvation

HOYT: When a good thing gets destroyed, that's the definition of unfair to me.

The end of True Blood's really sneaking up on us, as there are just two hours left! "Almost Home" was easily the best-acted episode this season, granting Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll), Hoyt (Jim Parrack) and Jason (Ryan Kwanten) some of their best material in a long while. Given how the show's storylines entangle like a soap opera's, sometimes good episodes are dragged down by the weak sub-plots they rub shoulders with, but there wasn't too much to get annoyed about this week. The worst storyline was undoubtedly Lettie Mae (Adina Porter) and Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis) convincing the Reverend Daniels (Gregg Daniel) to join them on a 'V trip' to commune with dead Tara (Rutina Wesley), but at least it was over relatively quickly.

TRUE BLOOD, 7.7 – 'May Be the Last Time' – familiar faces

SOOKIE: How can you not believe in miracles and magic when they're happening all around us every single day? There's a miracle out there, just waiting for Bill. I just have to go out there and find it.

After last week's rise in quality, "May Be the Last Time" was a flatter hour. The season's best sub-plots didn't advance very far, the weaker ones limped onwards, and a few others developed in ways that only killed time. There isn't enough zest and drama to this seventh season yet, which often feels like it exists purely to find ways to stoke memories and bring back old characters.

TRUE BLOOD, 7.6 – 'Karma' - in sickness and in health

JASON: Bill Compton is one tough motherfucker. He's gonna beat this thing. I mean, hell, he was like a bonafide vampire God about six months ago!

After five disheartening episodes, True Blood makes headway with the sixth, "Karma". Suddenly the thrust of the story is squarely on the shoulders of two main characters, terminally ill vampires Bill (Stephen Moyer) and Eric (Alexander Skarsgård), as they both concentrate on tying up loose ends before dying the 'true death'. Eric intends to avenge the death of his sister by murdering Sarah Newlin (Anna Camp), while Bill wants to make sensible arrangements for his coming demise. The fact Sookie (Anna Paquin) was responsible for transmitting the virus to Bill, her former lover, during a violent skirmish before he drank her blood, was also a good idea that binds those characters together as the season starts jogging towards a climax.

SDCC 2014's Saturday panels: AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D, THE SIMPSONS, TRUE BLOOD + Bonus BATES MOTEL

Yesterday was the third day of San Diego Comic-Con, and below are fan-filmed videos of four panels for AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D, THE SIMPSONS, TRUE BLOOD, and (as a late bonus from Friday) BATES MOTEL.

Trailer: TRUE BLOOD – Season 7 Part 2 (SDCC 2014)

Due to when it's scheduled by HBO every summer, TRUE BLOOD has always been able to debut a trailer at San Diego Comic-Con covering the latter half of its current season. This has tended to be a very good thing, as it's helped get audiences stoked for what's still to come. And when you have a poor season on your hands (which is quite often with this show), you need all the help you can get in keeping people hooked.

TRUE BLOOD, 7.5 – 'Lost Cause' – party animals

PAM: Oh. My. God. I'm a Republicunt.

It helps when a show references its own ridiculousness, but it doesn't always remove the stench of a bad idea. In the aptly-named "Lost Cause", Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis) organised a party round Sookie's (Anna Paquin) house, days after her best-friend and boyfriend were murdered? The writing did its utmost to make you swallow this preposterous notion, with various characters commenting on how weird it was, but I couldn't go along with it. I remain baffled True Blood is doing such a terrible job with its final season, because even season 4-6 has a sense of conviction that just about kept them watchable.

TRUE BLOOD beauty Deborah Ann Woll joins Netflix's DAREDEVIL

Marvel's Daredevil TV series on Netflix is filling out very nicely. We have Charlie Cox (Boardwalk Empire) as The Man With No Fear himself, joined by Rosario Dawson (Sin City) in an unspecified role, Elden Hensen (Hunger Games) as best-friend Franklin 'Foggy' Nelson, and Vincent D'Onofrio (Men in Black) as burly villain Kingpin. And now you can add Deborah Ann Woll (True Blood) as the leading lady, secretary Karen Page, love-interest for Cox's blind lawyer Matt Murdoch. See, I knew the demise of True Blood was a good thing for everybody.

TRUE BLOOD, 7.4 – 'Death is Not the End' - be kind, rewind

GINGER: Eric Northman is nothing if he is not pure fucking sex on a throne.

It wasn't as tedious as the previous three episodes, so "Death is Not the End" at least has that distinction, but this was still a below-average episode, only enlivened by a dumb action sequence and fun-but-superfluous flashbacks. If you've ever wanted to know how Eric (Alexander Skarsgard) and Pam (Kirstin Bauer van Straten) started Fangtasia, this was the episode for you. Turns out they were actually put in charge of a seedy video rental shop by The Magister (Zeljko Ivanek), until Pam stole employee Ginger's idea to transform the place into a nightclub. So, that was fun. Especially the part where Ginger had bought a "shitty chair" we know will become Eric's throne. I just have no idea why these scenes existed, beyond retroactively planting knowledge that Fangtasia has a secret tunnel entrance. And can someone explain why Ginger screamed when she first saw Eric? He wasn't covered in blood or exhibiting any sense of being a vampire. Was it his mid-'90s coiffured hairstyle?

TRUE BLOOD, 7.3 – 'Fire in the Hole' - flashback en français

PAM: I am as big a fan of the French vagina as you are Eric, but come back to Earth. She's just a human.

Hopes this final season would jerk to life by episode 3 (now the 'settling in' period is over), were dashed by the tedious and time-wasting "Fire in the Hole". At this point in True Blood's lifespan, limping towards the finish, I only really keep reviews going because it's a way to vent my frustrations, and for completism. But there comes a point where even the fun of a 'hate-watch' begins to dim, and the act of writing about an episode becomes a slog.

TRUE BLOOD, 7.2 – 'I Found You' - mob mentality

Vince: This town is full of vampires, has a dog for a major, and is being preached at by a telepath!

After a dull start to True Blood's final season, things continue to plod along in "I Found You". I remain sorely disappointed the Hep-V's are going to be this last season's Big Bads, because they're a dull rabble I don't find very frightening or plausible. If TruBlood is now undrinkable and they have a terminal illness, why not try and appeal to everyone's sympathy and be cared for? Swarming across the country in hostile gangs, slaughtering humans and throwing drained corpses into pits isn't helping matters! And why are supposedly sick vampires still operating with the same strength and speed as the healthy vampires?

TRUE BLOOD, 7.1 – 'Jesus Gonna Be Here'

written by Angela Robinson | directed by Stephen Moyer

After seven seasons, the sun's setting on HBO's supernatural drama True Blood. Over that time it's become increasingly inessential and ludicrous, but there's been enough craziness and graphic violence to placate viewers like myself who've grown distant from the characters and believe the show peaked in the middle of season 2 (which was a long time ago now). Since then we've had all manner of weirdness thrown at us, to try and keep onlookers interested in goings-on (witches, fire-demons, werewolves, were-panthers, fairies), but the final season appears to be returning to the simpler issue of the vampire-human relations that underpinned the first year.

Trailer: HBO's TRUE BLOOD – Season 7

It's the final season of HBO's vampire drama TRUE BLOOD, and now they've released a trailer giving us a glimpse at the latest goings-on in Bon Temp. Appropriately, they're attempting to knit the show's beginning with its end, and there seems to be a focus on Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) and the fate of the town. While this show went off the boil around season 3, and just became plain silly from season 4, part of me will miss it. How about you?

True Blood returns to HBO on 22 June, and Fox UK on 7 July.

My Television Disappointments of 2013

There were lots of bad television shows in 2013, as there are ever year, but the truly hopeless ones didn't hang around long enough to bother me. Or I managed to avoid the absolute worst of the worst thanks to good judgement. So this list is more about disappointment, not abject terribleness... although, sure, many of my choices are terrible shows, too. Below are the 10 shows that let me down, tricked me into expecting greatness, or were simply made by people who can do better. And in the interest of fairness, I watched either all or the majority of their seasons/series this year—but if you want to defend anything on the list because it got better at some point, be my guest...

So many of the best or most popular television shows are dead, or dying...

In the wake of True Blood announcing its final season next summer, have you noticed how many TV shows have recently finished, or are also approaching their ends? Being Human, The Borgias, Breaking Bad, Dexter, Fringe, Luther, Mad Men, Merlin, Misfits, Spartacus... I'm sure there are others, but those are the ones that spring to mind. By this time next year, none of those will be broadcasting new episodes. Quite a few will be all tapped out by October. Some are already dead.

HBO's TRUE BLOOD meets 'the true death'

HBO's popular vampire drama True Blood will end after its seventh season, due to air in summer 2014. Like the recent season 6, True Blood's final season will be a truncated 10 episodes.

HBO's President of Programming, Michael Lombardo, made the announcement, adding that: "True Blood has been nothing short of a defining show for HBO. Alan Ball took the books by Charlaine Harris, assembled a brilliant cast led by the magnificent Anna Paquin in the role of Sookie Stackhouse, and crafted a show that has taken its many devoted fans on an unforgettable journey. Alan passed the baton to Brian Buckner, who led our fantastic writers and crew in crafting a spectacular sixth season, and he will lead us through the seventh and final season of this amazing show. Together with its legions of fans, it will be hard to say goodbye to the residents of Bon Temps, but I look forward to what promises to be a fantastic final chapter of this incredible show."

TRUE BLOOD, 6.10 – 'Radioactive'

written by Kate Barnow | directed by Scott Winant

I was in a minority hating the penultimate episode, but that's possibly because most sane people reviewing True Blood online are dyed-in-the-wool fans willing to defend the indefensible. I was expecting the finale to be just as atrocious, but to my surprise it was an acceptable way to end this season—although there were still lots of bumps along the way. I used to hate how True Blood would spent a large portion of its finales setting up the next season, but these days I'm usually glad the current storylines are over and something new and shiny is being dangled at us. If nothing else, the writers provided a mildly intriguing "reboot" of the show for season 7...